


The Origin of Pow Blade

by Darkhymns



Series: Colloyd Week 2020 [4]
Category: Tales of Symphonia
Genre: F/M, Humor, Pre-Relationship, Talking about JRPG mechanics, Training
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:21:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24671488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkhymns/pseuds/Darkhymns
Summary: Lloyd didn't exactly know how Pow Hammers worked, but that didn't stop him from wanting to learn how to use them! This is why he then seeked out Colette as his teacher.
Relationships: Colette Brunel/Lloyd Irving
Series: Colloyd Week 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1780570
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	The Origin of Pow Blade

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Colloyd Week, Day 4: Unison Attack! This was taken very literally and was a good excuse to just write in the stupidest way possible. We have fun here.

So, where exactly do the Pow Hammers come from anyway?

“That’s not something you just ask…” Genis had warned Lloyd once. The boy was fixing up his kendama, tightening the string around the rubber ball so that the length wouldn’t drag onto the ground. “It’s a Chosen thing.”

“Huh?” Lloyd was seated on the grass in front of his friend’s house, fidgeting as he yearned to just go and fix Genis’ kendama for him. He wasn’t even tying up the string right. It would just snap off again. “Wait…how does being a Chosen make you summon hammers?”

Genis shrugged. “I mean, do you see anyone else do that?”

“No…” he admitted, letting the younger boy smile in satisfaction.

He supposed it made sense… Lloyd had always wondered, ever since Colette summoned a bright, red hammer in the air to counter a mangy wolf that had sneaked its way into the village. Colette had felt so bad though, even as the pow hammer made a squeaky noise when it hit the wolf on the snout. The animal had rushed right out of there with a yelp, while Lloyd had to reassure Colette that the animal was okay, really…

“That’s so cool…” he said aloud, lost in the vision of that red hammer. “I wanna learn it too!”

“You’ll just get bored with it, what’s the point?” Genis sighed. “Also, I just said only the _Chosen_ can learn it. Are you even listening?”

“You don’t even know if that’s true!” Lloyd stood up, now definitely needing to learn more about Pow Hammers than anything else!

“I do know! Because I’m smart, so there!” Genis pulled on the string to his kendama so tightly, he was messing up the knot!

“Gimme that, you’re tying it wrong!”

“I am not! Let go!”

And while both probably struggled with that kendama longer than was necessary – at one point the toy flying out of their hands to land straight into the middle of the pond – Lloyd still couldn’t get the Pow Hammer out of his mind. Was there a way he could learn this technique?

Clearly, Colette was a master at it.

* * *

“Hey!” Lloyd shouted as he rushed up to Colette’s home, kicking up dirt as he went. “Hey, Colette!”

He was lucky he had caught her now. Sometimes Colette came back home a bit later from her lessons at the Temple, but she was just walking up her front porch, turning at the sound of his voice. It had been harder to spend enough time together lately, but he supposed it was because of her being a Chosen. Though he wished they would give her a break already.

“Hi, Lloyd! Oh, why are you all soaked?”

“Huh? O-Oh, don’t worry about it.” He whipped back his damp hair to be more away from his face, eliciting a giggle from Colette. Also his shoes were squelching with a lot of that pond water… He really needed to stop losing bets with Genis, but at least he had been able to fix up the kendama himself because of it! “I wanted to ask…can you show me how to use your cool hammer move?”

“My what?” Colette asked with a tilt of her head. She seemed so confused. “I don’t carry around any hammers… Are you sure you don’t mean Dirk? He has that big one all the time!”

“No, I don’t mean real hammers. Well, I mean it’s kinda real? Maybe?” He still didn’t know? “Anyway, I meant the ones you summon out of thin air! _Those_ hammers!”

“Oh, I understand now!” Colette nodded, clasping her hands in front of her. “But how come you want to know? They’re not nearly as strong as your swords.”

“I mean, if I could summon swords out of the air, that’d be even cooler!” He paused. What if…he could? _Whoa…_ He would probably have to discover that technique later though. “But maybe I should start with hammers. Could you teach me? I promise I’ll be the best student!” Professor Sage’s opinions didn’t count.

Colette took a moment before she would answer, worrying Lloyd slightly. What if she really couldn’t? Were pow hammers really just meant for the Chosen? Damn, he didn’t think it was possible for him to be a Chosen too.

“Okay! I’ll try my best to teach you!” Colette sounded so positively upbeat that Lloyd wondered why he needed to worry. “This is really exciting! Should we try now?”

“Yeah! Thanks! Is around here okay?”

Colette nodded, moving to a part of the front lawn where there was more open space. “Um, maybe where Grandmother can’t really see…”

“Oh, right,” Lloyd said, quickly walking to that spot a little away from the front windows. They were past the stone well that was placed near her home, further into the greenery where they sometimes retreated to when they were kids. This had also been one of the good places to play hide and seek back then.

Once there, both decided to sit in the grass since it was a sunny day outside. Even while sitting, Colette was trying her best to look all teacherly-like with her straight and prim posture, the way the Professor would! But her excited smile kind of gave it all away. “Yes! So, uh, I guess I should give a background lesson first! it’s been passed down through our family… Grandmother taught it to me last. She used to summon Pow Hammers for me to play with when I was little!”

At that, Lloyd was already having questions. “Uh, but aren’t-?”

“Oh, raise your hand first!” Colette chided. “Um, please?”

“Sorry!” At that, he obediently raised his hand.

“Yes, Lloyd? What’s your question?”

“Uh…aren’t the Pow Hammers weapons?”

“Oh, they’re actually toys! Really old ones too.”

“Aw…” _This doesn’t sound as cool anymore…_

“Although they’re toys, they can still hurt a lot.”

“Oh?” _Okay never mind._ “Like-” He stopped again, and raised his hand. Colette nodded for him to continue. “How can you use toys as weapons?”

“We just alter it a bit so that they can be! You can even make them cause effects, like poison, though.. I haven’t learned that yet, hehe.” She pulled at her sleeves with self-consciousness. “But if you use them right, they can stun really good! It’s actually a very ancient technique. This was even used by Spiritua!”

Lloyd blinked. “Who’s that? Wait! Don’t tell me…” His dad mentioned this at one point… He raised his arm again, though he was more or less waving at this point. “Is that… one of the past Chosen?”

“That’s right! Good job, Lloyd.” Colette smiled at his correct answer, making Lloyd brighten up visibly. “It was written in the angelic scriptures how her Pow Hammers would rain down from the heavens, smiting her enemies. I don’t really want to smite people though, so I’ve just been summoning one at a time. But even that might be too much, like for that poor doggy…”

“Colette, I told you that wolf was fine. I even saw him the next day! And then he stole my lunch…” Lloyd shook his head. He’d grumble about forest animals stealing his food (again) another time. “But if you could summon a whole bunch of hammers, you’d be super powerful! I think you should try it!”

“Hm… I guess I’ll need it for the journey.” Colette nodded. “Okay! Oh, but I’m still supposed to teach you… I’m sorry, I got carried away!”

Standing up, she dusted away the grass from her dress. Lloyd followed suit, though the grass was a bit more stuck on his pants… He should probably change clothes at some point. “Alright, I’m ready!”

“Okay, so to summon a Pow Hammer…” Colette started, looking much more serious than she ever had before. “You have to think about happy things!”

“…Okay, you lost me.” This wasn’t how he expected his first lesson to go.

“Like for me, I always think about the cute doggies I’ve seen. Like little Bunz that lives in the village! Or Noishe! When I think of them, and focus all my energy, I can summon the hammer to come down. Like this!”

To do so, Colette held out her hand in the air, as if waving hello. With a resounding _pop!_ sound, a familiar red hammer materialized in the air along with a poofy cloud. It was bright red, with a long golden handle. Lloyd stared, wide-eyed.

“That’s so cool!”

That was when the hammer landed square on his face – with a nice small squeak, kind of like one of Noishe’s old doggy toys that he never played with. “Ah!”

“Oh no! I’m sorry!” Colette waved her arm more frantically, and the Pow Hammer vanished as quickly as it came. She rushed up to Lloyd who was rubbing away the red mark on his forehead. “Are you okay? I made it fall on you…”

“I’ve had worse…” He winced at the stinging sensation now on his head. He had even felt a bit stunned when that hammer hit him... He was even more impressed! “That was a good way of showing me how it works first-hand! You’re a great teacher, Colette!”

“Oh! Hehe, thanks.” Colette brushed back a lock of hair behind her head, also looking quite proud. “Now you try.”

“Okay!” Lloyd ignored his forming bump and stood up tall, feeling more confident than ever. “I’m gonna summon a big one! The biggest hammer! So big I can’t even move!”

“Won’t that be too much?” Colette asked curiously. “Then you can’t fight with it.”

“…Shoot. Didn’t think of that. Okay, I’ll just get stronger! Easy!”

“Hm, maybe it’s good to start off small first though. Just to get the hang of it! Don’t you think?”

Lloyd thought on this deeply, crossing his arms as he considered Colette’s advice. “…Yeah, I suppose you’re right. Dad says to start off building small things before you move onto the big stuff.” Soon enough, he was gonna build that huge boat! Just a couple hundred more necklaces and figurines to go!

“Just hold up your arm and think of all the happy things! Like all the doggies in the world…”

“Can I think of food maybe?” he wondered, but dutifully raised his arm up, trying to copy what he had seen Colette do. He even stood up on his toes for extra effort. “And…hammer go!”

Nothing happened. He reached up and tried again. “Pow Hammer go!”

Nothing again! He waved his arm all around him. “Stupid…my arm’s probably broken…”

“Don’t worry. Let’s keep trying!” With Colette, there was no way he could fail!

Until an hour passed, and all he got out of it was an aching arm.

“Why can’t I do it still!? Agh…” Lloyd finally lowered his arm and sighed. “Man…I’m not gonna summon any hammers at this rate, let alone swords!”

Colette had patiently stood by his side the whole time, advising on how high he should reach and the many happy thoughts he could have. But try as she might, Lloyd just wasn’t grasping the idea. “It’s okay, Lloyd. I had a lot of trouble too at first. And sometimes I still mess it up.” She smiled warmly at him. “Not just with Pow Hammers but my other artes too. Like when I accidentally took Professor Sage’s apple gels the other day.”

Lloyd raised an eyebrow. “Colette, I’m gonna be honest. I’m not sure how you can just accidentally trip over someone and then just have their belongings in your pockets.”

“But it really was an accident! I didn’t mean to steal those from her.”

“Don’t you call the move Item Thief though?”

“…That’s not the point!” A pause. “Didn’t you name that move for me?”

“Oh right!” Lloyd nodded, looking immensely proud. “Heh, I really come up the coolest names… What were we talking about?”

“I don’t remember…I’m sorry.”

Lloyd shrugged. “I guess it doesn’t matter. I’ll keep trying next time!” And with that, Lloyd gave a big thumbs. His clothes were all dry now, though his hair was now more disheveled than usual. He needed to comb it ASAP. “Thanks for being my teacher, Colette! Think you can keep training me?”

“Of course! If you really don’t mind?” Colette asked with a slight flush. The weather must have been really humid today for her to have that reaction. “I’m sorry I didn’t help enough.”

“Why would I mind? You’re amazing! And I’ll make you proud once I’ve learned it too.” He clenched his fists, looking ready to do more lessons. “Let’s do this again soon! But now I gotta get home or Dad’s gonna get mad…”

“Hehe, okay!” Colette held her hands in front of her dress, the wind picking up her hair. “I’m really looking forward to it.”

But that had been just a few weeks before the Oracle had arrived. And by then, Colette was already off on her journey.

* * *

“Maintain your stance. Your legs are too close to each other.” Kratos nudged the boy’s shoulder, making him move. “And don’t slouch.”

“Mmgh.” Lloyd mumbled, keeping his swords crossed in front of himself. Kratos was kind of a jerk, but Lloyd had to admit when he was right about something. His stance was already more stable than it usually was. “I got it, I got it…”

“Do you? Then we can continue with the basics. You’ve been distracted lately.”

“I’m paying attention just fine- Ah!” Lloyd swerved backwards, just narrowly dodging a sword lunge aimed for his shoulder. “What the hell?!”

“Stay alert,” Kratos merely intoned before lunging forward again.

Ever since Lloyd had asked Kratos for sword-training lessons, life had been much more brutal. After the hour-long session was up, Lloyd’s back was aching so much. He practically collapsed onto his sleeping cot once they both made it back to camp.

“Hi, Lloyd! How was training?” Colette was seated next to him, leaning against a large rocky outcropping, sipping some hot tea that Genis had made. The campfire lit off her Cruxis Crystal, a bright gleam that made Lloyd blink slightly.

“I think I might be dying…” he whined before turning so he could lay on his back. He thought he heard Genis snicker from across the camp, but he was too exhausted to do anything about it besides weakly shake his fist. “Can’t even…move…”

“I’m sorry, Lloyd.” From his angle, Colette’s smile was all he saw, more so as she set her mug next to her. Wait, no, she was frowning. He was looking at her upside down! “It’s because of how hard this journey is that you have to train this much.”

“Huh? How is this your fault? You make no sense sometimes.” He tried to sit up, wincing when he felt like he pulled a muscle. “Ow… and I need to train anyway if I’m going to protect you!”

“I’m sorry for making you feel you have to.”

“You’re not-! Agh, forget it.” Slightly grumpy, Lloyd shifted, looking around on the ground for something… “Genis!” he called back. “You didn’t get me any tea!”

“You took too long! Also Kratos already took the last cup.”

“...My apologies, Lloyd,” spoke Kratos from nearby, seated with his sword in his lap. Noishe was curled up next to his side, which still confused Lloyd greatly. “I have already finished my cup as well.”

“Ugh…whatever.” Lloyd sighed, and it felt like every muscle in his body went out of commission. The best he could do was lean back, holding himself up on shaky arms.

It had already been a long journey – Lloyd had finally caught up to Colette with Genis in tow, though he also had to be rescued by a Desian base first, thus effectively detouring the Journey of Regeneration. Having gone to help her, he felt he had just made a mess of things instead.

And when Kratos had nearly sliced his neck open one night, an assassin later catching them off guard, and combining all that along with the troubles of Palmacosta, Lloyd was beginning the feel the heavy weight of his inexperience. Training with Kratos seemed like it could help with that.

As he looked up at the stars, Lloyd blinked, remembering something else he had forgotten, besides the now-broken necklace he had tucked back into his pockets.

“Hey, Colette… Remember when we were training together too?”

“Hm?” She turned to him, her eyes reflecting some of the stars above. “Oh… It’s been a while since, hasn’t it?”

“You know what that reminds me of?” Lloyd flashed her a grin. “You still have to teach me that Pow Hammer move!”

Colette didn’t speak at first – probably because she was sleepy after a long day of traveling. They hadn’t come across any Salvation Houses in a long time, and Lloyd never thought he would miss a bed more than now. “You…still want to?”

“Well, yeah! I tried to show it off to Kratos but it didn’t work… Then he just made this weird face afterwards. Like this!” Lloyd pulled off the best Kratos-frown he could muster, down to the heavy-set eyebrows. Colette giggled at the expression.

“Hehe, wow! You really do look like him!”

Lloyd smiled. He was so good at impressions! “I need to do better next time! Let’s go back to training together again!”

“Would Mr. Kratos be okay with that?” Colette asked with concern, but Lloyd waved it off.

“It’s fine, we haven’t trained in forever! Let’s do it next time!” Until another wince that went through his shoulder, Lloyd barely suppressing a yelp. “Nn… since I’m way too achey to do anything now…”

Colette was still smiling at him, probably more than she had since the start of the journey. Maybe she just needed a break from things too. “Yeah, of course!”

* * *

They were already near the Ossa Trail, but there were no more signs of a weirdly-dressed assassin following after them. Lloyd made sure to look everywhere, even checking to see if there were any more secret hidden pitfalls.

But once he determined everything was safe, Lloyd gave the thumbs up, telling Colette that their training could start! The small grove near the mountain side was well-cleared of rocks and trees to give them ample room.

“This time I’m gonna get it!” he announced, feeling way more rested, and none of his bones feeling close to breaking this time. “And I’m gonna summon a million of ‘em like you do now!”

Colette scratched at her cheek from the compliment. “Hehe, it’s only about a dozen… And I started doing it after you told me about summoning more! I wanted to see if I could make it more helpful.”

“It is! And now with all those hammers, it’s like…um…quad something the power, right?” He’d ask Genis what the real word for that was later. “I’ll try to get at least half of that to appear!”

“I know you can do it, Lloyd!” With that, Colette rushed up to him, reaching for one of his arms. “I think last time you needed to reach up higher…like this.” She pulled on his hand, fingers pressed against his palm. “Like you’re reaching to grab the sun. If you do that, I’m sure the hammers will appear!”

Lloyd took a moment, feeling the warmth of her hand in his. Even though he wore gloves, he could still feel her. “Uh, y-yeah! Got it.” Following Colette’s guidance, he lifted his hand, fingers outstretched until they were blocking out the bright sun overhead. “Like that?”

“Yep! Now just think about nice things… like the sunshine, or maybe Genis’ cooking. Oh! And doggies.”

“Well, I think about those things plenty…” Lloyd mused before smirking. “Heh, how about beating up Kratos until I’m better than him?”

“Hm, I’m not sure if that’s nice-”

“Yeah, let’s do it! I’m gonna be a master swordsman, and then Kratos will have to respect me!” He reached up high into the sky – reached up both hands to get what he wanted, but double it! “Let’s go!”

And then suddenly, something happened. Like a pop? Or a poof? Lloyd blinked, remembering that familiar sound when Colette had called forth her own Pow Hammer. There was even a small cloud appearing above him! That meant it was working! “Colette! Colette! I think I got it now!”

Then the sharp clap of thunder made them both flinch. “Uh.” Followed by a sudden torrent of rain that fell over them completely. “Ah!”

“It’s a rainstorm!” Colette announced, still holding onto Lloyd’s arm. “And it was just sunny not so long ago…”

“Man, that’s so lame!” Lloyd whined until another thunderclap boomed, making him jump a second time. “Never mind…” And to think he got fooled by a raincloud, of all things…

* * *

They had to find some quick shelter, and with the campsite a bit far away, both Lloyd and Colette retreated into a nearby cavern. It was small and really damp inside it anyway, but at least they weren’t being pelted by rain anymore.

“Aw, even your cute ribbons are all soaked…” Colette said with a pout, holding them from the jacket Lloyd had unbuttoned.

He flushed at the comment. “They’re not supposed to be cute!” Although he wouldn’t really argue too much, seeing the way Colette was carefully folding his jacket to not get wrinkled. He meant to offer that for her overcoat, but she had already done so before he could. He had been too preoccupied with all the buttons he had to _un_ button…

“I’m sorry I’m not being a very good teacher,” she then apologized, laying Lloyd’s jacket against the rock wall, next to her own clothing. “I’m just not as good as Mr. Kratos at all…”

“No way, you’re great! I’m just…bad at learning things.” He sighed, shoulders a little slumped, staring out into the rain that refused to stop. “Professor Sage always complains about it and now I’m starting to get it..”

“But that’s not true! Dirk taught you how to craft things, and the vows! You can learn so much!”

“The vows aren’t even that hard to remember.” And for the necklace, it still lay all broken in his pack. He felt even worse now. “Maybe I’m just hopeless.”

Colette didn’t respond, which only cemented Lloyd’s belief in himself. He might as well go back to Kratos, but maybe even the mercenary was just humoring him with the lessons. What if he was just wasting everyone’s time?

He felt her hand on him again, taking his wrist. “Maybe we need something else…” She was looking at him, standing close to his shoulder. “Lloyd, remember how you said you wanted to summon swords too?”

“…Um, yeah.” He was feeling her warmth again. “But, how can I do that when I can’t even summon the hammer?”

“Maybe we just need to use something, like your sword! …Unless that’s stupid.” She looked to the side. “When I summon them in battle, I always have my chakrams out. And it’s been easier to call them too. So… if you think that…”

Lloyd was beginning to see her point then. “Oh, I get you!” With that Lloyd went to unsheathe his left sword, the raindrops reflecting off its surface. “So I just do the same thing while holding this?”

“Yeah! We might as well try it.” Colette smiled, still holding onto his wrist. “Is it okay if I keep holding you?”

“Sure, I need you to guide me!” Even if Lloyd had the general idea, a little help from Colette never hurt. He grinned, feeling confident again. “Okay, let’s go!”

The cavern was luckily not that small, so he could outstretch his arm along with the sword, and not scratch at the ceiling. With Colette holding him, he could feel her better. With only his shirt, his arms were bare, so her heat was way more noticeable, especially with the chill rain just outside.

“Just think about happy things now!” Colette advised. “I think stuff like food should work better…”

With her close, it was getting much easier to notice a few things from Colette; her hair was slightly damp from the rain, sticking to her forehead, and her crystal seemed to reflect the light from within its depths. And when she smiled, he thought he could see dimples form on her cheeks. He never noticed that before…

“Yeah…Food…”

“Maybe thinking of Noishe will help! Or Dirk!”

He loved them both, but they were very distant from his mind right now as he continued staring at Colette. “Uh huh…”

“And…Lloyd. There’s something…”

He already knew the moment she said his name, his warm feelings suddenly becoming brisk. The growling from deeper in the cave caught his attention.

Not like bears weren’t common around here, and he had seen his fair share just traveling from his house to Iselia, but this animal was…much bigger, with arms that looked ready to ensnare them as it marched up to them, fangs bared and eyes sharp with hunger.

“Colette, watch out!” At least he still had his sword out, but the bear didn’t exactly seem to care, already drawing close.

Colette still held onto him protectively. “We should go!”

“But our jackets!” Man, the bear just had to be right next to them too! “I’ll fight him off! Go get the others!”

“I’m not leaving!” Colette said, still holding on. Her grip was so warm still, even as the bear got close. Too close. Lloyd had to act fast!

And just when he swung his sword, Colette’s hand on his, something happened – with a _pop!_

A Pow Hammer suddenly bonked right onto the bear’s head. Little stars appeared as the hammer made contact, springing out into the air. Lloyd gripped the golden handle tightly, before the hammer disappeared again in a puff of smoke, leaving him with his regular sword.

It had happened so fast, with Colette also left speechless. The bear was too busy being stunned.

“Uh…okay, good time to leave now!” Lloyd said, taking Colette’s hand as they rushed from the cave – but not before grabbing both their jackets on the way out as they disappeared into the pouring rain.

* * *

Once they were well out of the bear’s home, Lloyd and Colette panted once they made it to a clearing, filled with lilies whose petals were wet from the rain. The clouds had parted, leaving them with sunshine that acted like it had never left.

“Lloyd…you did it!” Colette was saying then, even as she tried to catch her breath.

“I…wha?” he questioned. He was not that used to bears like that either… “What’d I do?”

“The Pow Hammer! You summoned one! Only it replaced your sword for a moment!” Colette’s eyes were bright with awe. “I didn’t know that could happen!”

The realization slowly dawned on him. But that had really happened, didn’t it? He had been holding his very own Pow Hammer! Or maybe… “I thought I was holding your Pow Hammer somehow!”

“Really? I don’t remember summoning it… But I wanted to protect you from that bear, so I’m not sure what happened.”

“And I wanted to protect you…” he mused aloud. “Maybe we summoned it together?” Was that how things worked?

“I’ve never heard of that happening either.” And as both mused on the possibilities, both reached to the same conclusion.

“We should totally do that again!” Lloyd announced, while Colette nodded eagerly.

“Yeah!”

Maybe it was in the way Colette held his wrist, or how her soft encouragement was enough. But once he got it, he was swinging bright red hammers – two of them! In place of his swords were two Pow Hammers, both making the satisfying squeaky noises when he practiced strikes against a nearby tree stump. They were super light too! He couldn’t wait to try these out on Kratos next time.

“This is the coolest thing ever!” Lloyd was saying, just before his hammers went back to his regular swords in twin puffs of smoke. “Too bad they don’t last very long.”

“But you did it!” Colette reassured. “It’s because you were thinking of Noishe and Dirk at the time, right?”

“Huh? Oh, right, yeah that was it!” Lloyd cleared his throat, still grinning wide. “But…it was mostly because you helped me, and…I really didn’t want you get hurt.”

That was something he had told Kratos too before seeking training from him. How could he protect Colette if he was always so weak? And even now, he had to look to Colette for help.

Yet when she walked up to him, hair still a little soaked from the rain, she showed him a gratefulness that made his heart skip a beat. “And you helped me too. I’m just happy I could help you back in some way.” Then a soft giggle. “Besides, it’s cute seeing you with double Pow Hammers!”

Lloyd pouted. “But when I use them, they’re more cool than cute!” His pout instantly changed to a smile that reflected Colette’s own. “Next time we’re in battle, I’m counting on you! So we can use our new Pow Blade move together!”

“Aw, that’s such a cute name too!”

“Nooo, it’s supposed to be cool!”

Both laughed, as bright as the sunshine that was free from the clouds. With a smirk of her own, Colette reached out her arm, summoning a Pow Hammer of her own and grasping the handle in her hand. “I think maybe we should train more? We have to get better at using Pow Blade!” She smiled, though she looked shy as she did so. “If you think that’s okay?”

“Are you kidding? That’s great!” Lloyd stood tall, hands on his hips. “I’ll take whatever you throw at me, Master Colette!”

“Hehe.” And with that, she playfully bonked him on the head with her hammer, just gently enough so that it wouldn’t hurt or stun him. “You’re amazing, Lloyd.”

“Ha, yeah, that’s…” Lloyd then suddenly felt all sluggish, his mind slowing down. “That’s…uh…”

“Lloyd?”

He realized just then and groaned. “Colette… I think… poison…”

She blinked. “But I’m not poisoned. I feel fine!”

“No… Your hammer!” he struggled to say as he wobbled, Colette deftly catching him in her arms. “That was…your poison hammer…”

“Ah, I’m sorry!”

“Dork…”

While Colette quickly fed him some antidote gels (which were always really bitter-tasting) Lloyd didn’t really mind it anyway. At the very least, he learned something today! And to learn it with Colette made it even more worth it too.


End file.
